Thiruvananthapuram, 06 March (H.S.):The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has decided to field 55 sitting MLAs again in the upcoming Kerala Assembly elections, signalling the party leadership’s confidence in most of its incumbent legislators. Among them, only two leaders — K.K. Shailaja and K.N. Unnikrishnan — will contest from different constituencies, while the rest will seek re-election from their existing seats.
Former Health Minister K.K. Shailaja, who currently represents Mattannur, will contest from Peravoor, while K.N. Unnikrishnan will shift from his present constituency to Tripunithura. The party is yet to finalise candidates in a few constituencies in Malappuram and Ernakulam districts, while the candidature for Puthuppally also remains undecided.
Party sources indicated that in Palakkad, the Left Democratic Front (LDF) may field a public independent candidate depending on the United Democratic Front’s (UDF) choice of candidate in the constituency.
In Thiruvananthapuram district, ministers and senior leaders including V. Sivankutty (Nemom), Kadakampally Surendran (Kazhakkoottam) and V.K. Prasanth (Vattiyoorkavu) will seek re-election, along with O.S. Ambika (Attingal), D.K. Murali (Vamanapuram), G. Stephen (Aruvikkara), C.K. Hareendran (Parassala), I.B. Satheesh (Kattakkada) and K. Ansalan (Neyyattinkara).
In Kollam district, Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal (Kottarakkara), S. Jayamohan (Kollam), M. Noushad (Eravipuram), Dr. Sujith V. Jayapillai (Chavara) and S.L. Sajikumar (Kundara) will contest again.
Health Minister Veena George (Aranmula) and K.U. Jenish Kumar (Konni) will contest from Pathanamthitta, while A. Raja (Devikulam) and K.K. Jayachandran (Udumbanchola) will represent the party in Idukki.
In Kottayam, the party has renominated K. Anil Kumar (Kottayam) and Minister V.N. Vasavan (Ettumanoor). Several sitting MLAs have also been retained in Alappuzha, including Daleema Jojo (Aroor), P.P. Chitharanjan (Alappuzha), H. Salam (Ambalappuzha), M.S. Arun Kumar (Mavelikkara), Minister Saji Cherian (Chengannur) and U. Prathibha (Kayamkulam).
Industries Minister P. Rajeeve (Kalamassery) leads the list in Ernakulam, along with K.J. Maxy (Kochi), K.N. Unnikrishnan (Tripunithura), M.B. Shyni (Vypeen), Antony John (Kothamangalam) and P.V. Sreenijin (Kunnathunad).
The party has also retained several legislators in Thrissur, Palakkad, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Wayanad, Kannur and Kasaragod districts. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan will once again contest from Dharmadam in Kannur district.
The CPM’s strategy of largely retaining sitting legislators is seen as an attempt to capitalise on the incumbents’ local influence while ensuring continuity in governance as the state heads toward a highly competitive Assembly election.
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Hindusthan Samachar / Arun Lakshman
